SARAH PALIN VS. DR. EZEKIEL EMANUEL

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Once again Sarah Palin is hammered by liberals and the White House for speaking out on domestic policy. She referred to Section 1233 of HR 3200: ‘Advance Care Planning Consultation’ or “End Of Life Counseling”, which ever you prefer, in the current health care proposal. She likened them to bureaucratic “Death Panels.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said she was one more Republican spreading misinformation to the public about the plan and trying to raise the level of fear in the public mind. On the other side you have White House Health-Care Adviser Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of the Presidents' Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel.

Dr. Emanuel MD, PhD, with The Department of Bioethics, The Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, has published many articles in his time and is considered by many as an authority in his field. Given his lofty status and position I'm sure he viewed Mrs.Palins' comments as mere “trailer trash” uttering. But in reality her comments are just plain spoken truth, presented in a different light in which most of America can understand.

“Death Panels” and “End Of Life Counseling” are terms that came about from Dr. Emanuels' own beliefs. Beliefs that he inspired and pushed for inclusion in the health care proposal. After all, what good is an advisor, especially one that is a doctor, if his advise isn't taken.

Dr. Emanuel believes that the underlying problem in health care today is cost, that there must be a trade off in cost and the type of health care you receive. In fact he wrote an article for “The Journal of the American Medical Association”, (JAMA) in February, 2008 entitled: The Cost-Coverage Trade-Off.

In the article he states that “the problems of the uninsured and lack of coverage are symptoms, not the underlying problem. Focusing on them is like treating a fever without addressing the causal infection. Instead, the diagnosis and treatment need to focus on health care costs. The fundamental problem arises because of a cost-coverage trade-off. Without controlling health care costs, any attempt at universal coverage will be transient. Sustainable expansion of coverage to all Americans requires credible changes in the rate of health care inflation.” I believe we are referring to End Of Life Counseling here.

There's more...in the June,2008, issue of JAMA, Dr. Emanuel places direct blame for the health care situation on the Hippocratic Oath and says that it allows for the 'overuse' of medical care. According to him true reform, must include redefining doctors' ethical obligations. This will relieve any guilt or moral and ethical questions from our health care providers and enable them to pull the plug with a clear conscience. ( These articles are at jama.ama-assn.org/ Note: full text will require a password unless your in the health care field.)

What we have here are some pretty extreme views on how health care should work in this country. Not only does this administration want to change our Constitution and drive us toward socialism, now we have White House advisers demanding that we rewrite the Hippocratic Oath to fit into their current health care proposal. What Dr. Emanuel and others like him fail to understand is that the American public is pretty good at reading between the lines. Sarah Palin nailed it right on the head when she used the term “Death Panels.” You don't have to be a highly educated PhD to understand that.

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